Don’t like something that was said/posted here? Read this.

If you do not like something said here, first talk to the user. The user is responsible for what he/she says not the admin.

The admin does not read every post and does not respond to every thread. Don't assume the admin knows about a particular comment or thread. Start by flagging the comment first.

Do not come running to the admin to ask for things to be pulled or complain about what someone says. If it follows the mission of the site, it will stay up whether or not the admin agrees with it or not. Remember this is a community forum and a wide range of people view the site. Most likely some people will come to your side. You can even defend yourself. If the post is fair game and does not violate posting guidelines, the admin will tell you what was just said. Still don't know? Contact the admin and we can decide if it is fair game or not.

Don't ask the admin to violate any privacy policies or fairness principles. The admin will not send any user identifying information to someone without a court order.

All sides can express their views here and if you post something you can/should expect a response.

Unlike Blogs where a user makes statements/commentary, this site's content is user-generated. This means users post stories or makes comments on articles that they want. This also means that there will be some users that will take advantage of this forum to enact revenge on others. This is sad, but all users are responsible for what they say or do. This is a forum devoted to allowing people to post what they like or don’t like. If you don’t like something said, the first step is not to write the site administrator but to try to contact the user. Here is what you should do:

1. See if the user has their contact form activated (click on username and click on contact tab [be sure you are logged in]). Send the user an e-mail telling them your concern. If you and the user can come to an agreement, then the admin can remove the post. The admin will remove posts the original author requests.
2. If the user does not have the contact form enabled, the site admin can forward messages to other users. Due to the privacy policy the admin cannot give out e-mail addresses or other personal information to other users unless compelled by a court/law enforcement to do so.
3. If the result is not resolved by the user you have several courses of action.
a. You can see if the issue is important enough. Some tough skin will go a long way.
b. If you feel the post harms you, you can take legal action against the user. Due to potential problems, the admin may be hesitant to get involved in your problem because of the larger problems it may create. You can try to plead your case, but there is no assurance depending on the issue, that it will be resolved. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) immunizes operators like this site from slander/libel cases when the site content is user generated. If you have a problem with comments, users can edit their own comments, which increases the responsibility of the user, especially if asked. You can sue the admin of the site, but you will be wasting your money and the admin will counter sue to collect lawyer costs and time. You will be assured to lose your case against the admin unless the admin is the one making the offensive remarks. Save yourself time and money by doing it right. Bringing in other parties will only delay your remedy and cost you more.
c. But what can you do? If a user says something that you don’t like, you still have remedy. You can file suit against the user, usually as a Jane/John Doe case. A judge rules that the site must release the information on the user(s) and the site admin will comply with the court. Then you can get the information on the user and get your remedy. The admin will comply with all court orders, including removal of offensive content.

When does the site admin step in? It is hard to say. Everything posted here is offensive to someone, so if the admin were to pull everything down that was offensive, nothing would be here. The admin has the right to edit swear words, allegations against minors, other outlandish behavior, or copyright violations. The admin will note edits in comments and story postings.

Remember comments and posts are the responsibility of the user. The admin is only providing the forum for users to talk. There have been many cases that have provided immunity to site operators. Congress was very specific in its intent.

In analyzing the availability of the immunity offered by this provision, courts generally apply a three-prong test. A defendant must satisfy each of the three prongs to gain the benefit of the immunity:
1. The defendant must be a "provider or user" of an "interactive computer service."
2. The cause of action asserted by the plaintiff must "treat" the defendant "as the publisher or speaker" of the harmful information at issue.
3. The information must be "provided by another information content provider," i.e., the defendant must not be the "information content provider" of the harmful information at issue.

This is an open site that welcomes discussion, so it will have to be extremely inappropriate for the post to be removed. Remember this is a community forum and a wide range of people view the site. Most likely some people will come to your side. You can even defend yourself.

Don't ask the admin to violate any privacy policies or fairness principles.

All sides can express their views here and if you post something you can/should expect a response.

Copyright 2007-2016 - The site owner and other users may or may not endorse other posts on this site. Don't assume that they know, like and support everything posted here (you know what happens when you assume?). Don't like something said here? Read this.